Up to this point, electric vehicles in the Philippines have predominantly been second cars for the rich. For those who can afford them, EVs usually function as a non-fuel-consuming alternative for taking kids to school, buying groceries, and doing errands. Because of their prohibitive pricing, only a few can consider buying one. And because the affordable ones are either too small or are range-limited, and given our country’s sparse charging station infrastructure, only a few would consider buyi

Based on the car manufacturers' latest offerings during the recent Manila International Auto Show, almost every one of them had an electric vehicle. Never before have we had such a diverse choice of desirable electric vehicles (EVs). As electric vehicles become more readily available, this will surely attract more motorists to make the big switch from fossil fuels to 100% battery power. It's easy to see why there's such a growing interest in electric vehicles. Aside from the continued increase i

When speaking about how expensive Electric Vehicles are, we can’t get away from the fact that, despite the TRAIN and EVIDA laws already being implemented, EVs are still prohibitively priced. For the sake of argument, though, there are calculations that can be done to see if it’s actually going to save you money in the long run. Let’s take the cheapest available EVs in the Philippines, the Wuling Mini EV, and the BYD Dolphin. Why the two, you may ask? Officially, the BYD Dolphin is the cheapest E

With the average price of electric vehicles in the market being close to ₱3,000,000, it may seem daunting for many mass-market buyers to consider it for their next car purchase. Fear not, because there are some cheap EVs available to the average buyer, and most of them won't cost an arm and a leg. Wuling Hongguang Mini EV Arguably the cheapest is the grey market-sourced Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, priced at ₱650,000 for the Macaron version. With four seats, air conditioning, and a media player (no

Just like how different cars use different types of fuels, Electric vehicles use different types of chargers to accommodate different types of charging speeds and methods. Level 1: Typical wall outlet charger The original, and by far the slowest, is charging through your regular wall socket with a 220V slow charging system. With our current Output voltage and frequency of 220V and 60Hz, the fastest we can charge a typical vehicle on a wall socket is around 3 to 4 hours for a small battery like t

The very first story I wrote for AutoFun Philippines, after a four-year hiatus as a motoring journalist, was about Republic Act 11697 or the "Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act." Most legislative stories would bore me (and many of you) half to death, especially when you have to decipher all the provisions of a law. But this particular measure piqued my interest because it provides the framework for the growth of electric vehicles (EV) in the country, from the cars to the charging stations